I was not a big fan of Philip Seymore Hoffman.he always played rolls that just made me dislike him. He was Very talented. And I'm sorry to admit I honestly didn't care when I heard he passed away of a drug over dose. I know you should always choose Life and anytime someone dies it's a horrible thing but when Talented people that seem to have everything and throw it all away it's hard for me to have sympathy.

There's no "should" with regard to how you feel about something. Either you do or you don't. But it might be helpful to look at it this way: Why do people take drugs (drink, eat too much, smoke, knowingly take high risks, etc.) to the point of harm or death or why do they commit suicide? The answer to that question is far more complex and deep than right/wrong, good for you / bad for you, pleasurable / harmful. The guy was struggling with his own demons, in pain and unfortunately for him, his kids and family, he was captive to a very unhealthy way of dealing with it. Clearly, what he did was not good for him. I'm pretty sure he knew that just like smokers know it. Why he did it is the question that requires more work, understanding and empathy for the human condition.

Compassion and sympathy are for the living. When I read about people overdosing, I really don't feel anything. Despite how hard it is to get off extremely addictive drugs, I can only imagine that most of these people have had plenty of people in their life trying to get them to stop.

Don't Know if I can add Michale Jackson to the list because technically someone else took him out be he seemd to be on the path of self destruction
All ended them self's early while having MORE then most could ever want,

I am empathetic. No drug addict, obese person or even many criminals ever believed that they would end up overdosing, being unable to leave the house or in prison. They are all on slippery slopes and most people think that they have it under control the first time they snort a line at a party to stay up late, order a second slice of cheese cake or fib on their taxes.

You have to pay the dues for your mistakes, but I can understand how something that starts small can move completely out of your control without you realizing it. I only empathize with those who overdose (I've never had a drug problem), but I do feel genuinely sorry for the innocent people around them: family, friends and business partners. They have to live with that person's mistake.

IMO you can absolutely change the way you feel about something/someone if you can motivate yourself to want to.

Assuming you could, why would you want to? If you desire to make yourself feel compassion for people who overdose from a standpoint of believing it's right in your heart, then you've got a whole world of people more deserving of your compassion.

Is it even possible to be that "concerned" without troubling your own soul. If your compassion drives you to dedicate yourself to doing something about it then I could see a point. But quite frankly if I felt there was a moral reason to feel something, it would have to be for real victims who are in a bad position for reasons not caused by themselves. The world is overflowing with people like that.

What I feel for people who kill themselves or destroy their lives over drugs is a sense of not being judgmental. It's unfortunate, out of my hands, and a loss to their friends and relatives.

I tend to find negativity is contagious, thinking bad thoughts about someone puts you in a bad mood and clouds other thoughts towards the negative. When I struggle to empathise for someone I try for a "Live and let live" happy medium. Bieber for instance. I can't relate to the choices he has made lately but I'm not getting all judgey about it or seeking out watching the kicking he is getting left and right on every social media and news site lately.

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Originally Posted by fly135

If you desire to make yourself feel compassion for people who overdose from a standpoint of believing it's right in your heart, then you've got a whole world of people more deserving of your compassion.

Compassion is not finite in fact the opposite, once it becomes a habit, there is plenty available for everybody, there is not a compassion allotment that gets used up.

I never had sympathy for this type of thing until a few years ago when It happened to a close friend. Family found him after OD. We knew he had some issues going on, but no idea it was heroin. Seeing what it did to his family and little girl made me see the other side of it.

The fact that PSH played roles that made you hate him, says something about his talent. So many talented and creative people have disorders such as ADD, OCD, which in turn makes them more susceptible to addiction. A lot of these people don't realize they have these disorders, until later in life. When these people are not practicing the craft they love (music, art, theatre, etc), they turn to other outlets. Unfortunately, Hollywood is filled with plenty of people who will happily put a bump out for you, or whatever it is they happen to have with them. PSH was battling addiction for most of his adult life, and he was one of the few people who openly spoke about his troubles and was actively working to kick his constant addiction.
I would rank him as top 5 favorite actor of all time, but that doesn't mean I feel bad for him. I feel bad for his wife and kids, and I am sad that I will no longer get to see him make a new film. I don't think anyone should just shrug their shoulders and think "oh well" when anyone dies. Especially when you're talking about a person who had a family who loved him.

When gang bangers kill each other, I am glad they aren't killing innocent people, but I'm sad for the choices they made in their lives that brought them to this point.

With that said, you feel what you feel. You shouldn't be punished for your feelings, no matter the situation.

Why anyone would start taking drugs is beyond me. It's pretty clear they're addicting and hard to get off! That's why I never even tried weed or taken a loratab for that matter. Not that that makes me better than a stoner...... Well maybe in my mind it does but to answer the question, no sympathy is felt from me.

I feel sorry for his family and friends. I do not feel sympathy for people who choose to do drugs. I also do not feel sympathy for the selfish act of suicide. Life comes with a lot of decisions, quick escapes often lead to a lot of hurt for the people around you.

With all the money and resources available to celebrities, it's unbelievable that more don't kick their addictions... instead that's what seems to fuel them. I thought PSH was a great actor and I am disappointed to see yet another talented individual's career and life end because of a drug overdose. I feel sorry for the ones he left behind, but shooting heroin is selfish and anyone gambling with their lives for a temporary escape gets zero sympathy from me.

I think Train got it right. A lot of creative people have a predisposition to psychological problems. I think the reason why they are dug into the "toxic batch" issue is that the drug is sometimes adulterated with a more powerful synthetic drug and raising awareness about that is a good thing.

When people get addicted to stuff like this their reasoning defies all logic.

Those articles are both wonderful. Addiction is a powerful thing and not something that anyone would ever choose. Nobody wants to grow up to be an alcoholic or drug addict. But addiction does not discriminate. There are so many different factors to addiction and you just never know who's going to be the unlucky one that gets stuck with the disease. We'd like to say it's as easy as never picking up drugs (wouldn't that be a wonderful world) but the facts are that people get sucked in for all sorts of reasons and many get sucked in at a young age. The major unfortunate fact about falling prey to addiction at a young age is that the addiction actually develops into our brain. Ours brains are fully developed by age 25 and if we've been an addict for 5 or 10 years at that point then we have trained our brain to think that drug use is an acceptable coping skill. Even if we know it's wrong...that doesn't matter. Addiction is more powerful than right or wrong. I've worked with 16 year old girls that sold their bodies for a joint or a pill or a bump. Imagine that... they don't want to do those things but they are completely controlled by their addiction. Another sad fact is that no matter how many people want an addict to get clean... you can't force them. They have to want it and they have to work at it every single day. Having a positive support system definitely helps but if I've learned one thing during my few years of working with addicts it's that we can't force them to change. We can only offer help and support and give them the tools they need and hope for the best. The best thing we can do is educate children about the dangers and be positive supports and role models and encourage positive activities (like water sports!) And hope they make good choices :-) ok stepping down from my soap box now... just very passionate about this topic.

PSH was one of my favorite actors. A friend and I were making observations about his demise and it was later talked about on the radio the correlation between great performers who have also been heavier body-types and their battles with addiction. I feel bad for him because I think the negative self image created the internal struggle that both made him a great actor and drove him to self medicate. I think people like him, Farley, Belushi, etc work hard to achieve greatness thinking that money, fame, and adoration will make them like themselves and alieviate the self loathing that decades of ridicule created. It doesnt. At the end of the day, when youre alone with yourself, none of those achievements matter.

All that to say, take care of your young people. The damage a negative self image as a child does, has long lasting effects.